Prewired Strat Pickguard

Amazing upgrade for my MiM Player Strat! I went with the Vintage Hots in the neck and middle positions, and high output in the bridge. The pickups sound incredible and I couldn’t be happier. Install was straightforward and simple even though my soldering skills are basic. I would highly recommend one of these pickguards if you are considering an upgrade.

LOVE my new Strat! I spoke with Lindy and while I thought I might order Vintage Hot Strat pickups, after talking about my guitar and what I want out of it, he recommended the ’54s. He was RIGHT ON and I love how my guitar sounds and plays now. He also recommended the piece of metal on the back of the bridge pickup, as well as the blender pot. I wouldn’t have gotten it with either and I’m so glad I got both!

The pickguard made installation as easy as could be, and I say that having never replaced pickups before.

If you’re on the fence about putting in some Fralins, do it today!

I ordered a prewired pickguard loaded with Steel Pole 42s in the neck and middle, and a split steel in the bridge. I am blown away! These pickups totally changed my guitar for the better. My pickguard looks great, and the wiring/soldering is top notch. Installation was easy thanks to the instructions provided by Fralin Pickups. I can’t say enough about these pickups and the prewired pickguard. I’ve always heard that Fralin pickups were good. Now I’m a believer! These are amazing. A perfect blend of P90 and vintage/hot strat tone. Nice mids and low end, without all of the piercing treble that can be a problem with Strats. I’m a Fralin customer for life. I plan on ordering more pickups for my other guitars and basses. Thanks for the amazing work you do!

I got the high output pickups in all 3 positions and I think they’re great. It’s a great combination of clarity, dirt, and body (sometimes strats just sound thin or weak). This sounds like a Stratocaster but totally fixes that problem. In a perfect world they wouldn’t have single coil him but what are you gonna do? The world isn’t perfect but Fralin pickups are as close as you can get.

The pre wired pickguard is the way to go. The wiring is clean and it’s a perfect fit and simple installation. The 54 pickups live up to all of the positive reviews and then some. I dropped these in a Fender Robert Cray hardtail body with and old Fender USA standard neck and the guitar came to life! The custom shop ceramic pickups fender puts into the RC sound like cheap toys next to Lindy’s pickups. All of my guitars have Fralin’s in them and for good reason. A Fralin makes the best organic sounding pickups there is. I’ve tried many of the top ones out there and always come back to Fralin pickups. The 54’s differ slight from the vintage hots. There is more sparkle with the 54’s and expanded frequency range to me ears without and harshness in the top end at all. I love the VH pickups too but it’s nice to have two killer strats with two different sets. I play cleaner tones and fingerstyle only. My amps are a 55 tweed deluxe and a 52 tweed pro and I only use a bit of verb or slapback. If you are a purist like me tone wise, you just can’t go wrong with Fralin’s in my opinion. Top notch for the tones I use!

Ordered a pre-wired strat pickguard for a Fender CS strat that was SSH and I wanted SSS. I ordered a neck and middle Woodstock and a high output bridge pickup with a baseplate. I also ordered a treble bleed kit as well. I really like the tone of everything, very stratty in a late 60’s vibe. I have an all original ’65 strat and the CS is a bit brighter with more mids so I’m glad it’s different. I gig the CS and this will work out great.

The only thing I notice is that the treble bleed really dumps the bottom end out, much more than other guitars I have that have treble bleeds (all of them). My ’65 has one (I put it in years ago) and that guitar sound more natural when the guitar is turned down. I notice Fralin sent another cap, maybe it’s to change the treble bleed? I’ll have to ask them.

I got the Vintage Hot Strat pickups in a prewired pickguard, parchment pearloid, with a push-pull tone pot and blend pot. For the tone pot, I have the standard cap (0.02) in the down position and the magic cap in up. My overall impression of the pickups is they are fantastic.

I previously had a Kinman Blues set, which I had for 15+ years. And while they are nice and have very low noise, there was something missing. The Vintage Hots have an extra sparkle that makes them sound what you expect a great Strat pickup should sound like. They are not too bright either, but have an upper midrange presence and tight bass that goes well with my amp, a Fender Tweed Bassman modified with 6V6 tubes. I also played them through a bunch of boutique amps at my local guitar shop and they sound excellent in those amps as well.

It took about two and a half weeks from my order date to receive the pickguard. Installation was easy as I’m pretty handy with a soldering iron. One issue I did have was the tone pot didn’t seem to do anything. I emailed them and got a call almost immediately. After talking to them, I took photos and sent them in. There was a wire missing from the tone pot to the switch for which they apologized profusely. I missed it too when I looked. They offered to pay for shipping to repair, but I said I could do it. They then gave me 15% off my next order, which I will gladly take as I want to build up a telecaster.

Overall build quality was excellent and service was excellent. The blend pot acts somewhat like a tone pot in that blending the neck pickup in cuts some of the highs down on the bridge pickup. The magic cap does this as well for the bridge pickup. The only thing I would change would be to have the magic cap in the down position. I don’t use the tone pot much except on the bridge. I may change this next time I change strings.

I am very pleased my choice of pickups and pickguard and highly recommend Fralin.

Received my pre-wired tortoise shell pickguard, with Vintage Hots installed. I installed it, along with the custom output Jack, on my MIM Strat. Great instructions which made the installation very easy. I plugged it into my Twin Reverb amp, and WOW! Absolutely beautiful tone! The clarity is awesome! Each of the five positions sound great. The blender knob opens up more tonal variety.
I have Fralin pickups in my American Deluxe Tele. Those pickups are awesome, as well.
Many, many thanks to Lindy and his associates for taking the time to answer all my questions in assisting me to select the best pickups for both guitars. Received a lot of compliments on the tone of both guitars!

I ordered vintage hot single coils ( prewired ) for a stratocaster that I built for my son. They sound amazing ! Happy son, happy dad

For my mid-80s MIJ Strat, I ordered a loaded pickguard with Vintage Hot in the neck and middle and the Split Steel Pole in the bridge. I had it wired with a master tone and blend pot. The master tone has the magic cap and the standard Fender value. All I can say is WOW! The Vintage Hots sound amazing. The SSP with some dirt is heavenly. I’m very pleased.

I have long been a Fralin fan – I have a set of Fralin P90s and a set of humbuckers in two different Guild electric guitars, a set of Fralins in my Jazz Bass, and I put a set in my son’s Telecaster. Every set has been awesome!!!

Recently I purchased a Prewired Strat Pickguard with Blues Specials for my Fender American Strat – absolutely spectacular!!!! Major tone heavy – even my wife commented on how much better the Fralins sounded than the stock pickups. You just can’t buy better pickups than Fralins!!!!

Robert Dambacher

I purchased a Vintage hot set to upgrade my Eric Clapton start. I love the tone — and what I had previously, the noiseless vintage fender pickups – were not slouches. I love the clarity and definition of the new pickups. The folks at Lindy Fralin were super helpful on selecting the pickups, and also to make some changes and answer all my questions. Highly recommended!

This is the 4th pre-wired pickguard I have purchased from Lndy Fralin, and I also have a custom made [Trevor Binford] Bass with Fralin P-Bass pickups., so you could reasonably guess that I am a fan of their products.
The quality is undeniable. No one one makes better vintage style pickups.
In the 50’s and 60’s , Fender guitars had a distinctive sound that many wanted , and /or copied. They no longer seem to have the ability to produce that sound, but a reasonably priced up-grade with Fralins pickups can give you that sound – and more.
I primarily have bought vintage style pickups for Fender style guitars but there are a wide variety of other options, I am sure that they also do what Fralin claim. I have been very happy with all the products I have purchased, and would not hesitate to recommend them.

Simply the best. Purchased a preloaded pick guard with Real 54s in the neck positions and Blues Special in the bridge the sound is perfect. I have several vintage fenders and the loaded pick guard transformed my Strat to the perfect sound I was looking for. Just perfect strat tone. Fantastic pickups and super high quality components. Would not purchase pickups anywhere else. Lindy also provides great personal service. Very pleased!!

I ordered a pre-wired strat pickguard with a blues special in neck position, real 54 in the middle and a high output with base plate on the bridge. Volume, tone and blender. The sound is spectacular. I also have Fralin hum canceling P90s on a ES 339 which used to be my favorite guitar. Now I have two favorites. Top notch pickups and terrific customer service.

I love the 54s. My Strat finally sounds like it should. Simply amazing! Try a set with the hot vintage pickup in the bridge. I have a Tele that I will upgrade as soon as I can afford it. Money well spent without a doubt.

I installed a set of Vintage Hot pickups in a pre-wired pickguard in my late 80’s Fender American Vintage ’62 Strat. I always liked the way this guitar played, but was never happy with the way is sounded. Once I replaced the pickups, the Strat sounded just like I imagined it should. I couldn’t be happier. Not only does it sound great, but the workmanship of the wiring is immaculate, and the new Tortoise Shell guard makes the guitar look perfect.
Now quit reading reviews and go buy yourself some of these excellent pickups!

I have had an anniversary strat for oh boy, 20 years plus and was never that happy with it. So it never got the love that the old Tele got. I finally decided to refinish it and upgrade the electronics. The strat S-1 system just sounded muddy, never liked it. Anyways, I ordered up all 54’s in a pre-wired and added the blender knob to the tone. I can’t be more emphatic about how brilliant the sound is. I am 100% in love with the clarity and the distinction between pups and the SPANK of the #2 position! I don’t know what else I can add. I have been listening to a lot of Ronnie Earle and while I may never sound like him, I believe my Strat now is capable of that clean beautiful tone. Thanks to Lindy and crew for bringing the Strat to life!

Vintage Hots – Hands down THE BEST strat pickups I’ve ever played! I updated my strat with a Fralin Vintage Hot loaded guard, and WOW what a difference. Crystal clear (but warm) and highly articulate pickups. Fantastic tones across all pickup positions. Stellar build quality, I could not be happier!